Charles Dickens, the author of A Tale of Two Cities, shows a pitiful attitude towards his character Sydney Carton, and uses metaphor and juxtaposition to demonstrate this.
At first sight, Sydney Carton was originally intended to be an insolent alcoholic and brilliant lawyer who was appropriately nicknamed “the jackel” because of how he gets no recognition whenever he wins court cases. Carton’s irresponsible habits are exemplified when he drinks excessively after he helps save Charles Darnay from imminent execution, demonstrating his lack of concern for anything other than a stock of wine. He is a man who describes himself as a “man who died young”. However, one can perceive Carton’s deepening depression Dickens’ use of pathetic fallacy to…show more content… He first describes Carton looking outside, using the phrase “the air cold and sad, the dull sky overcast, the river dark and dim, the whole scene like a lifeless desert.” reflecting how he contemplated life. Then Dickens contrasts that by then having Carton enter a mirage of “honorable ambition, self denial, and perseverance...there were airy galleries from which the loves and graces looked upon him, gardens with the fruits of life and waters of Hope”. By using the term mirage, Dickens effectively uncovers Carton’s inner desires, buts also makes the whole situation seem impossible and appear an illusion. When the image ends, Carton is lying on his bed with a pillow of wasted tears, revealing his total desolation. With this example of juxtaposition, one can clearly see the immeasurable difference between Carton’s gloomy and dull world with his illusion of glory, and how Carton reacts by laying on a empty bed with a “pillow of wasted tears”, revealing that Carton was indeed depressed. With this use of juxtaposition, Dickens uses that to reveal his empathy for Carton by contrasting his wretched life with a apparition of a glorified